In Reid et al v. County of Erie, 2017 WL 4676833 (WDNY Oct. 16, 2017), the court dismissed plaintiff’s race discrimination case, finding that the “written warning” plaintiff received was not an “adverse employment action.”
The court explained, inter alia, that (generally), “[n]egative performance evaluations, formal reprimands, and counseling memoranda are not adverse employment actions for purposes of a disparate treatment claim unless accompanied by negative repercussions such as reduction in pay or an injury to a plaintiff’s ability to secure future employment.”
Applying the law to the facts, the court concluded that although plaintiff “was given a written warning, it was not accompanied by any demotion or adverse change in his employment status.” In light of this, and the fact that plaintiff identified no other adverse employment action, the Magistrate Judge recommended dismissal of this claim.